Pueblo educator, sports enthusiast honors his dad's final wish

Tuesday

Just as he had done countless times before, Joseph Petrick looked through his camera's viewfinder at the on-field action.

His beloved Centennial High School girls soccer team had just mounted what turned out to be a victorious comeback against a feisty Standley Lake team at Dutch Clark Stadium.

This time, though, tears filled Joseph Petrick's eyes as he worked the shutter without interruption.

"I took over 900 pictures of the game. Just snapped as many as I could just to take my mind off of it," he said.

For a brief moment, he turned his attention away from the field to a certain familiar spot in the historic stadium.

His father Albert "Abbie" Petrick's seat.

And as Joseph Petrick well knew, it was empty.

"It was soul-crushing not seeing him there," he said.

But a deathbed promise had been fulfilled.

Just before the start of Saturday's second round of the Class 4A state soccer tournament, Abbie Petrick's failing health gave way for good. After saying what turned out to be his final "goodbye" Friday evening, Joseph Petrick learned of his father's passing around 8:30 a.m. the following day.

"I spent all day Friday with him," Joseph Petrick explained. "I graded papers and we watched some TV. And I could see that his health was going very quickly. So I told him, 'You know Dad, I've seen enough games. I've probably seen hundreds of Centennial soccer games. So I think I'll come back here tomorrow morning instead.'

"And he couldn't really talk at this point but he struggled to get out, 'No, no. You go. You've been with them so long. And it will give us something to talk about when you come back. You can show me pictures.'"

And those were the last words Abbie Petrick spoke to his son.

"My dad grew up being a Wildcat," Joseph Petrick said. "He played baseball for Ed Lesar at Central. And we were both big Central fans. But when I got the chance to teach at Centennial many years ago, Coach (Tom) Brockman asked me to be the statistician for the football team. So my dad started following me at Centennial."

Before long, Joseph Petrick befriended Jeff Sterling, the soccer coach at Centennial, who invited him to the YMCA to watch his two young daughters compete in a soccer match.

"So I took my mom and dad and we went to watch," he said. "And those little girls were knockouts: 'this tall' and just as cute as can be. And my dad just fell in love with those girls. And we started following them, all the way through elementary school, into the middle school leagues and finally at Centennial."

It wasn't long before Abbie Petrick became a fixture at both the Centennial girls and boys soccer matches. With his son on the sidelines capturing the action with his trusted camera, Abbie Petrick watched from "his seat."

"He truly loved the girls but he also cheered on the boys," Joseph Petrick said. "And he became acquainted with Coach Sterling, who would come and talk to him after the games."

It didn't matter what kind of year the Centennial girls were having, or how he was feeling, Abbie Petrick was there, in his seat.

"As my father's health started to go downhill, he told me, 'You know, I've waited all these years for this group of girls to get to the playoffs, to be good,'" Joseph Petrick said. "'How sad is it that I can't go watch them.'"

As Centennial began its playoff run this year, it became Joseph Petrick's revered duty to keep his father in the loop.

"He told me, 'Joe, you go to the games. You take pictures. You give me the details and text me the scores.'

"And that kept him going. He told the girls that this would be their year. He just wasn't going to be there to see it."

Early Saturday morning, Joseph Petrick took the call he knew would eventually be coming but dreaded nonetheless: "Your dad isn't doing very well and you need to get to the hospital."

By the time he arrived, Albert "Abbie" Petrick was gone.

And with the Centennial-Standley Lake soccer match only hours away, Petrick's mind returned to the conversation he had as his father lay dying.

"I struggled," he admitted. "My Dad, my best friend, has just passed away. If I go to the game, what are people going to say? 'Your dad just died and you're at a soccer game?' So I talked to my Mom and said, 'What do I do?'

"And she replied, 'It's not even a question, Joe. Your Dad wanted you to go to the soccer game. You're going to go.'"

Before the contest, Petrick told Sterling of his father's passing.

Noted Sterling, "I told Joe, 'Make sure you are doing what you have to for your family.' But he told me, 'Coach, my Dad would kick my butt if I didn't show up for the game.'"

The hard-fought 2-1 victory in hand, and with it a ticket to the quarterfinals of the state tournament at 6 p.m. today at Dutch Clark Stadium against Sand Creek, the Centennial girls made a beeline for Petrick.

"The first one the girls went up to after the victory was Mr. Petrick," Sterling said. "And then to the crowd and everyone else. Even before they shook hands with the other team, they ran over to him."

"I didn't realize Coach Sterling had told the girls," Petrick said. "But I guess he did. When they came over to me ... Well, words could never describe what that meant to me."

Out of habit, Petrick pulled out his phone as the Centennial celebration continued.

"All I could think was, 'I have to call Dad. I have to call Dad.'"

Today, when Centennial looks to continue its march to a state title, Petrick will be on the sidelines, camera in hand and love for the Bulldogs in his heart.

Abbie Petrick's seat, though, will be empty.

"But somewhere, my Dad will be cheering on the Bulldogs," Joseph Petrick said. "I have to believe that."

jpompia@chieftain.com

Twitter: @jpompia

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